Michael Halloran, a major force at various San Diego alternative-rock-music radio stations since the mid-1980s, is returning to 91X-FM this week. As program director for the station in the first half of the 1990s, he played a key role in propelling such San Diego talents as Jewel and blink-182 to local and national prominence.

Beginning Sunday at 7 p.m., Halloran will be the new host of the weekly two-hour show “Loudspeaker,” which previously aired at 8 p.m.. The show was launched in 1986, the same year his first stint at 91X began. The opportunity for him to host "Loudspeaker" open up after the show's most recent host, Andrew Rowley, stepped down.

In addition to “Loudspeaker,” a showcase for music by San Diego artists, Halloran will also host the new “FTW,” a weekly Sunday night show that will air for on 91X for one hour immediately after “Loudspeaker.” With “FTW,” he will be free to play any music he wants, even by artists otherwise not heard on 91X.

“Mike has a long tenure here in San Diego, a true passion for music, great ties within the local music community and a wealth of on-air experience,” said 91X program director Garrett Capone. “In my mind, these traits make him the ideal host for both of these programs.”

If all goes according to plan, Halloran will also begin hosting a new bi-weekly San Diego music cable TV series by the end of the year. To be called “SD Sound System,” the show will be one component of the new web site sdsoundsystem.com, which Halloran recently helped launch as part of multi-media platform to showcase notable music from here and across the nation.

Halloran’s most recent San Diego radio job, which stretched from 2003 to early 2010, was as the music director and weekday afternoon host for FM 94/9, 91X’s biggest local rivals.

“91X and I were in competition before, and I don’t take my competition lightly,” said Halloran, whose comment appeared directed at 94/9.

"I have a reputation in this town and not everyone wants to hire me. Capone is a lot more attentive. He doesn't say: 'You're damaged goods, you get fired all the time and you say bad things about corporate radio.' By hiring me, he wants to acknowledge that 91X has a massive history and that the station is way bigger than any one person."